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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24712720">Renewal</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/artisticFlutter/pseuds/artisticFlutter'>artisticFlutter</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Hymn of Rebirth [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Final Fantasy IX</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Before Post-Game, Character Death, Crystals, Cycle of Souls, Gen, Iifa Tree, Limit Break(s) (Final Fantasy), Music, Romance is minimal since Garnet is only mentioned, Technology, Temporary Character Death, Trance - Freeform, Understanding Mourning, angel - Freeform, but believe me</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 00:21:36</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,941</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24712720</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/artisticFlutter/pseuds/artisticFlutter</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Garland created three Angels of Death to ensure Terra's survival. Although two remain, they'll become angels in a way he didn't expect.</p><p>(Part One, Post-Game)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Garnet Til Alexandros XVII/Zidane Tribal, Kuja &amp; Zidane Tribal</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Hymn of Rebirth [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1805743</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>14</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Angel of Virtue</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Disclaimer: Final Fantasy IX was created by Hironobu Sakaguchi and Shinji Hashimoto, developed and published by Squaresoft, and re-released since by Square Enix. Please support the official releases.</p><p>Beta Reader(s): <a href="http://archiveofourown.org/users/PocketNoivern/profile">PocketNoivern</a> and Jo</p>
    </blockquote><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Zidane instinct to save Kuja sends him falling into an abyss. He makes his own discovery once he reaches the bottom.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It’s instinctive of him.</p><p>Kuja’s no longer breathing and his soul had fled, but Zidane shielded his brother’s body anyway from the Iifa Tree’s raging roots as they came barreling inward. Maybe he deserved it for what he’d done, but like hell would Zidane let him suffer more at this point.</p><p>And he doesn’t regret it.</p><p>What was one became too many to count, the piercing pain of the vines burying themselves into his back and impaling him through lasted for a second yet managed to stretch on for eternity; and Zidane couldn’t utter a word much less yell. He’d never felt anything like it – not even Ultima or being on the brink of death before Necron.</p><p> </p><p>That feeling became nothing.</p><p> </p><p>Once nothing, there’s no way to determine being nothing - how long he was adrift briefly forgetting again who he was, but he felt again soon (maybe?) – or, at least, sensed himself as a presence within a space. He was falling; he couldn’t determine if it was through air or water, but it kept going – maybe it had been one before the other. Down, down, down, lights flickering behind his closed eyes. His limbs were lead, his tail was limp, and he sensed there was physically nothing more than the lights all around while he sped further to who knows where.</p><p>Or… maybe he was being drawn somewhere?</p><p> </p><p>… And then it stopped.</p><p> </p><p>Not down, but up? He felt righted anyway.</p><p>His eyelids trembled, struggling against a force attempting to keep them closed. They managed to part after a fight; enough to see a floating light dimming in his sight. This form, the shape, he’d seen crystals similar to it, but this was so pathetically small compared to the rather grandiose forms he’d witness prior. At first, he assumed it had shrunk, but inspecting it again, it was no full crystal at all but a fragment. Jagged fracture lines chipped the edges and a few more spread haphazardly over the surface, shallowly penetrating the gem. It wouldn’t shatter like this, but any more force upon it would risk it breaking.</p><p> </p><p>Red…</p><p> </p><p>Its light should be brighter his mind says, but at this point, it could not. The fact this fragment was before him at all was something of a miracle. He saw no others like it looming within the dark.</p><p> </p><p>“… You’re all that’s left, huh?”</p><p> </p><p>Finding the strength to raise his hands, ignoring the niggling question of when he entered Trance, he gently grabbed the crystal and brought it close, taking in more of its physical damage. As his crimson eyes scanned over the surface, he sensed something; like a creeping chill clawing into his chest and weighing on his heart.</p><p> Fear – yeah, he recognized that feeling.</p><p>Wave after wave, emotions poured over him mingled with loss and the despair that often shadowed, but that was normal, right? It’s what he’d learned – no, what they’d all learned, but in this case, they needed to remember.</p><p> </p><p>… ‘They’?</p><p> </p><p>Who was this ‘they’ he was thinking about?</p><p>What was he supposed to do with it here? It was all familiar, but he couldn’t… place it.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> “Restore the cycle…” </em>
</p><p>“… Kuja?!”</p><p> </p><p>Zidane knew he heard his brother’s voice, but he couldn’t see him anywhere. He thinks he moved forward – it <em> felt </em> like space shifted at least - with the crystal in hand, but he flinched back when the darkness was abruptly cut blindingly blue. Raising a hand, he shielded his eyes while drawing the crystal close with his other arm, and twisted his body away. It hurt, he wanted to recoil from it and hide, but there was nowhere else he could go. He could’ve sworn the crystal in his grasp wailed as the souls… the souls…</p><p>… Terran souls.</p><p> </p><p>“Ah…”</p><p> </p><p>Terra had been destroyed, and upon the planet’s collapse, the crystal would’ve been destroyed – the sudden outpouring of Mist had suggested so much. Yet, in his grasp was a fragment of those souls beginning to fade – those who had expected to live forever according to Garland, devouring planet after planet… Zidane had been created to help maintain that eternity so of course the blue crystal radiated violently to protect its cycle spinning life and death. It probably would’ve destroyed him were he not in Trance.</p><p>With his back still turned to it, he gazed down again at the red crystal shard he guarded. “… Y’know, it’s not living if it’s forever. We’re supposed to make the most of the small time we have, with the people we love, and meeting more people along the way. I think you – we – all forgot that... at least, it feels like this soul I have is missing a period of being ‘alive’. Let only our memories be forever.”</p><p> </p><p>This was still so strange, but it felt like… it was the right thing to be doing.</p><p> </p><p>Gaia’s glaring light burned furiously at his back, but he brought himself to face it anyway, wincing as it struck his face. Terra’s last crystal remained tucked under one arm as he dared to move closer, raising his other hand out to Gaia – to what had become his home. Placing his bare palm against the surface, he could feel the energy coursing, prickling, trying to push him away, and he could see it’d been fighting this hard against the Iifa Tree for so long. It could be brighter, it could be stronger, but the Soul Divider had millennia to work. Those roots – yes, he was within the prison the Iifa Tree had made – though weakened were writhing, trying to enclose the crystal and draw it into its death throes, but it continued to fight. And now, it was fighting him, preparing to lash out.</p><p> </p><p>“Crystal, hear me…!”</p><p> </p><p>It heard him alright, and responded with a hard nudge pushing him back, but his fur just bristled.</p><p> </p><p>“I don’t want to take over! I'm asking for your help!”</p><p> </p><p>But the images were thrust into his mind at his call – of the Terra Crystal before, larger and brighter; when Garland tried to force it upon the younger planet. Not that the vision was going to make Zidane give in though. He wasn’t Garland, he’d never work for Garland like that, and he didn’t want Terra to assimilate Gaia.</p><p>His claw tightened around the dying red crystal.</p><p> </p><p>“This is all that’s left. The planet is gone and no longer poses a danger thanks to Kuja. These souls that remain need to remember… please, give them a chance to be born to you without any more Gaian souls being lost, and live again like I did.”</p><p> </p><p>Its resistance held, but the burning at his hand lessened.</p><p>Around them, the roots shuddered and pressed in closer.</p><p> </p><p>“Dammit. Can’t blame the Iifa Tree for still fighting either…” he muttered, moving closer to the crystal.</p><p> </p><p>Meanwhile, the souls were still fading in claw, their emotions becoming faint…</p><p> </p><p>The radiant crystal pulsed and the roots ceased their movements. He’d try getting rid of them if he could, but Terra didn’t have much longer. If someone could help him, anyone; if he wasn’t alone, maybe he could think of something.</p><p>Zidane’s eyes widened as he remembered that song and remembered the young woman who originally sang it before when she felt alone. When he learned that, he wanted to make sure that never had to be; if she was alone and singing, he would come to her side and they would enjoy it together. Right now, in Alexandria, was she singing it? Recalling the lyrics, letting the melody come from his lips now, could she tell he was too? In his other hand, he felt Terra’s souls shift and raised it. It pulse weakly, but it was echoing Gaia’s the best it could. Those few souls he could sense were reaching out to the many and the cracks seemed to deepen.</p><p>But as the pulsing lights came together, Gaia was reaching back. He found himself able to bring the faded crystal closer.</p><p> </p><p>And when they met…</p><p> </p><p>The red was gone, the blue had become white, and the final fragment of Terra shattered in his hand and disappeared into the void. However, Zidane bore witness to something he was sure even Garland never expected for the crystal did not shift either to blue or red.</p><p>Instead, its luster turned a dazzling gold, far more brilliant than either crystal had held.</p><p>He removed his hand and smiled.</p><p> </p><p>“Thank you, Gaia… Let’s do our best in our next lives…”</p><p> </p><p>He didn’t want to break his promise, but he didn’t know how he would get out after this. Maybe if he gave it a moment, the crystal would return him to the cycle, too. Or maybe the roots would disappear, but would he just return to his body then? He was pretty sure he remembered being stabbed through. Instead, he floated still, bathed by the golden light of the reinvigorated crystal, and heard a familiar melody reach his ears. His head snapped left and right, soon looking upward, but all he saw were the roots taking their sweet time to decay.</p><p> </p><p>“… Dagger?”</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> “How strange… Is my dear brother giving up now? And here I thought you wouldn’t embarrass my death.” </em>
</p><p> </p><p>Zidane’s eyebrow twitched and he felt his fur stand.</p><p> </p><p>“I-I’m not giving up! There’s no way out of here. I don’t even know how I got <em> in</em>!”</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> “Oh really? That’s a pathetic excuse and I’ve heard so many.” </em>
</p><p> </p><p>Baring his teeth and balling his hands, Zidane righted him to what he assumed was near standing, his tail twitching in agitation. His eyes tracked the shadow of a form that had drifted down to join him and narrowed as it made a too familiar gesture flicking what looked like hair back. Zidane had to roll his eyes, but he wasn’t surprised that Kuja was as dramatic in the afterlife.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> “Your performance to this point was magnificent, but when the audience calls for an encore, you decide to remain backstage? Were you not part of a theater troupe?” </em>
</p><p> </p><p>“Hard to get back on staged when someone locks the door from the outside.”</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> “Ah, yes… Garland’s rusting lock. Keeping you in while other souls remain out… and yet, you’ve already bested him.” </em>
</p><p> </p><p>Their head turned and Zidane’s followed, both of them coming to stare at the golden crystal.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> “… Truly, you became the angel to surpass me, but he wouldn’t have foreseen this outcome.” </em>
</p><p> </p><p>“Nah… he had his own way programmed into him. Controlled, just like the three of us,” Zidane replied coolly, shaking his head. “But y’know, I wouldn’t have been like this if it wasn’t for you.”</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> “You mean abandoning you…” </em>
</p><p> </p><p>“Eh, I’ve decided that doesn’t matter. You’re just like everyone else trying to fight for a purpose in life.” Raising his eyes again to the roots tangled within this spectral space, Zidane’s tail curled. “… My purpose isn’t fulfilled then? Is that why you’re still here?”</p><p>Glancing over, he could make out Kuja nodding.</p><p> </p><p>“Saving me again. Geez, can’t let me do that for you once?”</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> “… You already have, Zidane.” </em>
</p><p> </p><p>Inhaling, Zidane turned his head completely to face his brother, but his form already faded. Feeling himself unclench a fist, he sighed. Gone, but his memories would live on like everyone else’s; just to ensure that, Zidane knew he had to get out. Dammit, he’d made that promise and he wasn’t going to break it – not anymore!</p><p> </p><p>He could hear her sing so clearly, calling to him.</p><p> </p><p>Locking his eyes again on the roots, he raised his hands and flexed his claws, concentrating on his final Dyne. His fur rose again, energy crackling at his fingertips and popping over his flesh that even caused his hair to stand. He didn’t have magic and he didn’t have his daggers, but none of that was about to stop him from forcing a way free and putting an end to this tree. His lips quirked slightly as he recalled Soulcage when he’d entered the tree with the others. “He was right… this is how it ends.”</p><p>The crystal’s golden rays seemed to make his body glow – or his fur had turned yellow? Not like he could see his eyes turn amber.</p><p> </p><p>“Dagger, I’m coming home. Wait for me, I’ll be there soon…!”</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> “Grand Lethal…!” </em>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Hmmm, we could put this in part to me listening to maybe one-too-many fan theories? Or maybe just wanting there to have been more that happened at the Iifa Tree for this part. You know, blah blah blah, joining of the planets, blah blah, moons reflect the crystals, but then fusion happens sooo... then what? Over the course of the game, Zidane has probably become far more connected to the vastness of the world than he probably wanted to, but I guess thems the breaks when you're based on Sun Wukong haha. Also, someone tether this boy's soul - he keeps getting it pulled out of his body (he'll become an Eidolon if he's not careful aha). Anyway, I just... wanted him to do one final thing for Gaia and Terra and that song without, y'know, posting the song, hehe.</p><p>Random question: Does anything else think Zidane can probably sing a little bit?</p><p>Anyway, I'll get the second part with Mikoto up on a later date along with the actual collection, but first, I have to finish some fanzine-related work. Until then, please leave a comment, kudos, and subscribe and I'll see you in the next chapter!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Angel of Life</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Mikoto is the only Angel that remains. She needs to understand what that means for her new life on Gaia.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Disclaimer: Final Fantasy IX was created by Hironobu Sakaguchi and Shinji Hashimoto, developed and published by Squaresoft, and re-released since by Square Enix. Please support the official releases.</p>
<p>Beta Reader(s): <a href="http://archiveofourown.org/users/PocketNoivern/profile">PocketNoivern</a> and Jo</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Statistically, it was supposed to be impossible.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>However, her ‘brother’ had still been an Angel much like Kuja.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Zidane had been built with the specifications to surpass his prototype, and her construct had been similar. Still, he hadn’t been formally trained to wield his power. So what – ultimately – gave him the strength to override Kuja’s will?</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Eyes locked on the seemingly endless sky above and the drifting cumulus clouds, Mikoto blinked.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The day the Iifa Tree collapsed in on itself was the day she stopped sensing both her ‘brothers’. Despite losing them, she sensed there was a change. As set into her the day she was ‘born’, her life was bound to the cycle of souls. Her duty – in another time – would have been to reap Gaia’s souls so Terra could take over and to be certain of this efficiency, she could sense souls as they moved throughout the planet.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The souls of Gaia had resumed their cycle, but something was different – or more accurate, something was changing. Casting her eyes around, it was too bright to currently see the moons, but if her abilities were correct, then—</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Mikoto?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Lowering her head, the young Genome turned and looked down further to meet the glowing yellow eyes of Zidane’s ally (friend, the term was friend) and fellow construct, Vivi. He was looking up at her from beneath the usual steepled hat, but she counted one new patch on his blue coat. Given Kuja’s nature, he actively avoided learning everything that went into making a Genome; if he’d paid more heed, she knew the Black Mage wouldn’t be so clumsy, but she digressed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Though, that may be better in the grand scheme of things.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes, Vivi?” she asked, tilting her head somewhat. He was fiddling with his brim and she concluded he had a question first. It was a habit that she noticed he often did.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“… I was wondering, you remember how we talked about Kuja and how he made Black Mages in Dali?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She nodded, recalling the method which she had been told about, taking the Mist byproduct and using an engine to cobble them together. Again, skipping so many steps that it left her amazed it worked at all and disappointed. For lacking the ability to process emotions, Kuja certainly let them lead many of his actions, but that was the issue, wasn’t it?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Putting those thoughts aside, she refocused on Vivi as he fiddled with his hands.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, I… started thinking about it again after Mr. 288 died and how we’re all going to pass away soon. It was something I thought about after we stopped the Mist the first time too – how all the Black Mages will eventually die out.” She watched him turn his head towards the river and followed his gaze. There were small fish present, recent spawns of the season that would grow larger and swim out to a larger basin once they outgrew this home. Vivi continued to speak. “Do you think, if we used that machine again, that we could make Black Mages more like the Genomes?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Hm…”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Black Mages similar to the Genomes?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>On Gaia, technology was nowhere near as advanced as it had been on Terra. Where the process had been refined into exceeding the previous limits on the previous generation of Genomes, Black Mages only had the one apparent prototype which was Vivi and the rest were the ‘final’ version. In other words, the setback was intentional which meant – in theory – those machines might be capable.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“… It would have to be refitted with a new engine to work,” she started, running the process through her head. “And… we would require samples. Though we did not naturally reproduce, taking samples from both sexes and combining them with Terran elements allowed us to craft the next generation and perform the genetic modifications during early development. The tools for something that complex are unavailable, but… there may be another way…”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Really?!” Vivi exclaimed, bouncing a little on his feet.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Mikoto nodded, cupping a hand to her chin. “According to your world maps, some of Terra’s landmarks exist on Gaia… It may be a matter of excavating those sites.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Should she really be considering this? While it was fascinating to think about, she should leave this technology behind. Artificial sustainment of life was what ended up killing Terra. Living was to accept mortality and inevitable death, but if it could save a race, wouldn’t it be alright to use it once? They had been introduced unnaturally, but after this, they could let nature take its course.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Could it help make up for Kuja’s actions against them? She didn’t know anymore; it wasn’t even what she was built to do.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Her thinking this time was cut off by a soft laugh. Vivi appeared mirthful. “You know, you look like Zidane when you think like that…”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Mikoto paused, but then realized he was being melancholic. Right, she understood mourning now and she too sometimes thought about his actions; of why he went back when all Kuja had ever done was torment him for so long. Zidane never attached reason to action should a person need help. Her ‘brothers’ had certainly been abnormalities, but she couldn’t say she was proving much different on Gaia.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>How strange…</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“… It may just be something else we share,” she finally answered and allowed the faintest smile to come to her face. “Anyway, if this is the method you wish to look into, we’ll need to acquire the machine from Dali. Lindblum may have the necessary engine to make it run, but that should come after the machine’s acquisition. Finally, either Kuja’s Palace or Oeilvert should have what we need to make a new Black Mage.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Nodding his head enthusiastically, Vivi paused before asking, “Do you… mind helping me? I know this isn’t really what you expected.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Which was true.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Garland wouldn’t have anticipated this so why would she? She knew Vivi in particular was referring to her role much like the two before her and the deviations.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“No… I don’t… think I mind. Besides, he asked me to try.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>And try to find her new way she would – and she thinks she’s beginning to understand.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The following day, the process officially started.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Dali had no more use for the machine and hadn’t been able to figure out how to repurpose it, but the villagers wanted some compensation for the upkeep. Mikoto and Vivi decided to go to Alexandria and speak to Queen Garnet Til Alexandros XVII on the matter. She had been more than willing to fund their endeavor, smiling as she gave them the needed gil, but the light never reached her eyes – another facet of sorrow.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She also sent word to Regent Cid before they reached Lindblum, explaining their intentions, and he spoke with them shortly after they arrived. Refitting the machine with a steam engine sounded like a challenge to him – one he was happy to take on since it would help him with his new airship fleet’s design. Though Mikoto offered to help with that in exchange, Eiko shook her head. “Let him have this. He’s been wanting to preoccupy himself for weeks since he can’t do anything else.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Plucky as before, but the mask was undoubtedly there.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Once the engine was crafted, the Regent had the Tantalus Troupe escort Mikoto and Vivi to the Desert Palace and Oeilvert. Mere coincidence or irony? Mikoto believed the argument could be made either way – the troupe were performers, thieves, and treasure hunters; but on the other end, how her and Vivi continued working with people part of Zidane’s life made her wonder even further on his actions.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Thank you for your assistance,” she said, standing next to Baku while he stood at the helm of the </span>
  <em>
    <span>Prima Vista II</span>
  </em>
  <span>. He didn’t even look her way.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“No need fer thanks. It’s only ‘cause the Regent we’re doin’ this…”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Befuddled with the Tantalus leader’s mannerisms, she was approached by the red-headed thief, Blank, later.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t mind the Boss. You look a lot like Zidane, no offense, and… well, he was pretty much his son.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“… Of course. That makes sense.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>One death was proving so painful to others, but they were still trying to live. It was sad, but like understanding the cemetery, there was something admirable to it.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Once everything was gathered, it took several more weeks to build and another two to finally produce a seed. Mikoto started with a seed as a test. Plants were complicated in their own ways, but not so much as a creature that would later develop further complex systems. It would be dangerous to begin with Vivi, but she also should’ve factored in her ability (or inability) to garden. Those first seeds were indeterminable successes or failures because she didn’t know </span>
  <em>
    <span>how</span>
  </em>
  <span> to care for vegetation. Embarrassing, but a learning experience worth making the other Black Mages and Genomes take part in.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It took three more tries, trial and error with various labelled pots, before Mikoto was satisfied with the end results: flowers that were perfect clones of their parents and capable of reproduction without error or pre-emptive decay. In other words, so long as the flowers were cared for, they would live the expected lifespan of the original flowers.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Was it pride she felt, or just joy from the success? Either way, it motivated her onto the next step.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The egg that was produced after several weeks of little rest was surrounded by Mikoto, Vivi, the Black Mages, and the Genomes. Vivi recalled the eggs in Dali and how they bore patches as though hastily constructed, but this egg alone came out purple. He was curious why it was an egg, but Mikoto was open to explaining.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Without the chambers to protect its development like on Terra, an egg is an efficient way for the Black Mage to complete it safely like Bobby Corwen. It will be a while before it hatches, but once it does, it will have your appearance with a stable physical body to house its soul.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s amazing… and it’s no longer made from Mist.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Vivi raised his hands and rubbed his eyes. Looking back at the egg, the Genome girl was thinking again - of the Mist, the Iifa Tree, and the cycle of souls. Excusing herself, she stepped away to let the others figure out what to do with the egg and went to the cemetery to think. They had buried another Black Mage while she had been working and part of her wished she had been present then. She still occasionally mulled over her existence and what it meant as an Angel, but she understood that Gaia was their new home assimilation or not; and the planet seemed to accept them.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“… I get why you wanted to fight for Gaia, Zidane. After living on Terra, it’s… nice to be somewhere that welcomes life and accepts death,” she mumbled, tucking some of her hair behind her ear. “Also, it’s taken some time, but Kuja, the Genomes are beginning to wake up. If only you two hadn’t been so stubborn, maybe you would both be here to help.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Sighing, she had to hope that talking to the sky wouldn’t become normal here. Turning away, she was prepared to head back and see into the preparation of another egg when the wind picked up.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Her eyes gradually widened.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>That</span>
  </em>
  <span> should be impossible…</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Zidane…?”</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Hm, at the moment, I'm mulling over another chapter where Mikoto helps Zidane recover, but part of me also likes leaving it at this. I have another story that I'm almost done with in the meantime that's focused on pre-game stuff, mainly focusing on when Zidane, Blank, Marcus, and Cinna were brought into Tantalus.</p>
<p>Ah, if some of you have noticed, I've made the collection this will be part of. Haven't officially put the summary in, but it's going to mainly be post-game stuff. I wanted to write in parts instead of chapters Zidane returning to Alexandria and marrying Garnet... with some things in-between. Slice of Life stuff along with noble meddling despite the fact he saved the god damned world, they could say 'thank you'. Trying to decide between Prince Consort or making an excuse him and Mikoto are kind of de-facto 'rulers' of the Genomes. Really, do nobles rank above Angels to say otherwise?</p>
<p>Haha, I'm rambling too much and need to get back to some work! Until next time, please leave a comment, kudos, and subscribe and I'll see you in the next part!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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